1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas liquid separator, in which a sample gas can be introduced into a gas liquid separating chamber to effectuate a separation of liquids and impurities that may be contained in the sample gas and, more particularly, to a centrifugal separator having an improved body construction that facilitates manufacturing and maintenance of the separator.
2. Description of Related Art
Gas liquid separators have been frequently utilized in the prior art, for example, as a preliminary or auxiliary processing device in determining constituents of combustion exhaust gas from a motor vehicle, to enable the analysis of air pollutants. An exhaust from a motor vehicle can be utilized to determine the performance of the engine and the fuel by measuring concentrations of CO.sub.2, NO.sub.x, HC and the like contained in the exhaust gas. This measurement is frequently done with an infrared analyzer that is supplied a portion of the exhaust gas as a sample gas. Prior to such an analysis in an infrared analyzer, it is necessary to prepare the sample gas to remove any liquid constituents or liquefactions which can produce an error in the analytical result. In this regard, a highly efficient gas liquid separator is desired.
An example of a conventional gas liquid separator can be seen in FIG. 3. A block body or housing 41 has an upper removable segmented member 42 that is sealed to a cavity in the top of the body 41. This separable block member 42 is mounted above a gas liquid separating chamber 43 formed as a nearly rectangular hollow chamber positioned above a revolving separator disk 54. On one lower side of the gas liquid separating chamber 43 is an exhaust or bypass outlet 44. The separable block member 42 has a pair of conduits 46 and 47 terminating at one end on, respectively, port openings 56 and 57 and, at the other end, on connection portions 48 and 49. Port opening 56 is offset from the axis of the revolving disk 54, and is utilized to introduce a portion of the exhaust gas into the gas liquid separating chamber 43. The port opening 57 is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the revolving disk 54 and can withdraw a portion of the sample gas for subsequent analysis, such as in an infrared analyzer (not shown). Any liquid or solid particulates will be discharged from the surface of the revolving disk 54 to be subsequently collected in a drain pot (not shown) which can be connected with the bypass outlet 44. The interior surface of the separable block member 42 is planar and is offset by a relatively small gap (g) from the surface of the revolving disk 54. The separable block member 42 has a series of sealing members 50 provided on its outer circumference. An upper shoulder or flange portion 50 is of a configuration complementary to the support shoulder 59 on the upper surface of the body block 41.
The centrifugal separator 51 principally comprises the upper revolving disk 54 and a lower motor 52 that is supported within a motor block 53. The motor block 53, in turn, is mounted into a cavity of a complementary configuration within the interior of the body block 41. The relative size of the motor block 53 and the alignment positions of the supporting shoulders 59 and 60 will define the desired small gap (g). As can be appreciated, the revolving disk 54 is rotationally driven at a relatively high speed by the motor 52 so that when sample gas is introduced into the gas liquid separator chamber 43 through the sample gas introducing conduit 46, the sample gas will be subject to a gas liquid separation as a result of contact with the revolving disk 54. This will permit a portion of the sample gas with the liquefaction removed to be withdrawn by the sample gas discharging conduit 47. The connecting portion 49 of the sample gas discharge conduit 47 is connected to an infrared analyzer (not shown).
As mentioned above, the liquefaction and any solid particulate material can be removed from the drain pot (not shown).
As can be readily appreciated, such a manner of separating sample gas from liquids and particulate material in the exhaust of the engine of a motor vehicle could result in an accumulation of impurities and foreign matter. Thus, the revolving disk 54 of the centrifugal separator is prone to be soiled and damaged so that the dimensions of the gap (g) formed between the upper surface 55 of the revolving disk 54 and the lower end face 58 of the separable block member 42 can become clogged or diminished in size so that the gas liquid separating characteristics are deteriorated. It is frequently necessary to service and maintain the gas liquid separating chamber 43 and the component parts by cleaning and removing any accumulated debris.
During this maintenance cycle, the separable block member 42 must be separated from the body block 41 such as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 3. When this occurs, it is necessary to remove any connecting pipes between the exhaust engine and the infrared analyzer that are connected, respectively, to coupling portions 48 and 49. The necessity of breaking down the constituent parts of the liquid gas separator and connecting and disconnecting the various pipes can be relatively troublesome and time consuming to the operator.
An additional maintenance problem occurs when it becomes necessary to repair or to replace the motor 52. The revolving disk 54 of the centrifugal separator 51 can typically operate at a relatively high speed of, for example, 11,000 to 13,000 rpm. Under such conditions, the motor can deteriorate. The motor, however, is positioned in the interior of the body block 41. To gain access to it, the separable member 42 and the motor block 53 must be removed. Thus, the prior art is still seeking a solution to the above problems.